STORRS -- March is approaching, which means we need to talk about seeds.

But first, let's talk about sides.

This was a side of UConn we hadn't seen in quite some time. This was pure offensive ineptitude against SMU, a 29.6 percent conversion rate as a team and a 6-for-26 combined effort on two-point field goals from Shabazz Napier, Ryan Boatright and DeAndre Daniels.

This was an upwardly trending UConn squad staying stationary against the active SMU defense, thus taking a small step backward in the AAC standings.

This was also a highly difficult matchup for the Huskies. That much can't be denied.

"They're tough defensively," UConn coach Kevin Ollie said after the Huskies' 64-55 loss at Gampel Pavilion. "But you just have to move the basketball. We made it even tougher by staying on the first side."

The dimensions of the court seemed to shrink when UConn had the ball. Nick Russell, SMU's rangy 6-foot-4 shooting guard, no doubt affected Napier on the perimeter. Redshirt sophomore Markus Kennedy was a 6-foot-9, 245-pound bull in the paint. SMU's other forward, 6-foot-7, 230-pound Shawn Williams, is a redshirt senior. He looks the part.

The Mustangs have long arms, broad shoulders and legal-age photo IDs, which they'll need to properly celebrate a 22nd victory that all but sews up an NCAA tournament berth.

They're in, as is UConn, and only the seeding remains to be seen. A game like Sunday's makes you wonder, though: SMU won't be the only NCAA tournament team with a combination of length, strength and maturity. Is UConn equipped to deal with one of those matchups?

Because so far, the results against those teams haven't been pretty, Sunday included.

"You can't do it on the first side; you've got to get it to the second side," Ollie said. "What I mean is reversing the ball, and then you reverse it again to the third side, and maybe even reverse it again to the fourth side. And then you attack.

"But we've got to learn. It's not `I'm going to do it on the first side, I'm open.' No, give the ball up, cut through and when you get it on the second side, it's coming off a rotation and coming off a closeout."

Late in the first half, Boatright dribbled and dribbled and dribbled on the left side, crossing over, weaving the ball between his legs. His teammates watched as he eventually drew a foul. Ollie did not.

No, the coach rested his head on his right hand, rubbing his eyebrows.

When he did watch, he saw what the rest of us did: Napier couldn't quite get enough separation on the perimeter. At times, he looked ready to release his signature pull-up jumper, only to pull it back when Russell or the 6-foot-4 Ryan Manuel extended an arm.

He took shots he doesn't usually take. He only attempted two jumpers in the final 12 minutes. He missed a runner off the side of the backboard. He attacked the hoop hard, flipped in some layups, but also wildly flipped a few others over Kennedy.

"We have to do a better job of cutting and giving Shabazz and also Boatright some options to pass the ball," UConn senior Niels Giffey said. "We're kind of stationary in those situations."

On Friday afternoon, Larry Brown told CBS Sports Network that Napier was the best player in college hoops. On Sunday afternoon, Brown reminded us that Russell is "as good a defensive guard as there is in the country."

Boatright, guarded by the 5-foot-9 Nic Moore, kept UConn afloat in the first half at the foul line, but still shot 3-for-12 from the floor. Daniels gave UConn little offensively. And so has been the story against the top three defensive teams in the AAC, all of which have long arms, broad shoulders and no problem getting into a campus bar (legally speaking).

In two games against SMU, Napier and Boatright are a combined 15-for-47 from the field.

Against Cincinnati, Napier and Boatright combined to shoot 8-for-28.

Napier did score 30 points against Louisville's relentless, swarming defense (remember: the Cards have little guards, too), but Boatright was 4-for-14 and Daniels was 1-for-9.

The most telling stat: Against SMU and Louisville -- he was out with a back injury versus Cincinnati-- Daniels is 6-for-29 from the floor.

This latest loss puts UConn a full game behind SMU and Memphis in the league standings. It's certainly not impossible for the Huskies to climb to No. 3, which would yield a second-round matchup against the weak No. 6 team in the AAC tournament. But if they stay put in the No. 4 or No. 5 slot, they'll likely draw Memphis (on its homecourt) or SMU in the quarterfinals.

Although we'll talk plenty about seeding, truth is a UConn run in the Big Dance may come down to the matchups -- not the numbers -- on the Huskies' side of the bracket.

And that's not to say UConn can't beat an SMU-type team, because the longest, strongest and most mature squad the Huskies faced this season was Florida. Since losing at Gampel on Dec. 2, the Gators have reeled off 19 in a row.

Since losing at SMU, UConn had won 10 of 12. And then the Huskies were suffocated.